ASHVEGAS: Local tea party is not Mad Tea Party

The Asheville Tea Party is a grassroots movement of regular people on a mission to take back their government. Call them citizen crusaders. They’re mad as hell, and they’re not gonna take it.

But don’t call them The Mad Tea Party. That would be the name of Ami Worthen and Jason Krekel’s popular Asheville band. They’re known for their ukulele-powered rockabilly.

The musicians have been on the local scene a good bit longer than the folks with the political agenda. Yet it seems that some folks are getting the two mixed up.

“We started getting e-mails from people thinking we were affiliated with the movement” when it first took off last year, Worthen says. It’s not the first time the band has had its name confused. There’s a Disneyland ride by the same name. It features a giant tea cup that spins riders around in dizzying style. “What can you do but laugh?”

So the band decided to have a little fun. During the Asheville Tea Party’s protest on Tax Day last week, Worthen and Krekel showed up with their instruments, a cameraman and a few extras, including a dancer in a bunny costume. It was a classic Asheville “when worlds collide” moment.